The notion of intercultural and teaching-learning process of foreign languages in Brazil: representations and realities of FFL

Abstract

Although the history of humanity is merged with the history of languages, studies related to the field of language sciences have been very recent. Several elements compose the broad field of human sciences, such as behavioral analysis and the sense of belonging and exclusion. Situated in this context, the epistemological reflection about Foreign Languages (FL) represents a sign of contemporaneity. This fact is maximized by its interdisciplinary character, making the lines that delimit the linguistic field research in FL very tenuous. The degree of variants of the object Language makes the research on teaching and learning highly complex due to the subjectivity it involves. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss issues such as representation and interculturalism in the research methodology. Such dimension allows some outlines for the development of linguistic research to be drawn, establishing an interface with the process of teaching and learning in FL. Cuq (2010), Puren (2009), Courtillon (1998) and De Carlo (1998) are some of the theoretical references on which this reflection is based on. Some representations related to literacy will be pointed out in order to highlight aspects related to the reality of current teaching of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) in Brazil.